To be disgusted at Danny Boyle for using live animals in the Olympic opening ceremony!

[balotelli]

According to reports on todays news live sheep will be used in the Olympic Opening ceremony. Its supposed to depict 'rural' England!

Poor sheep will be scared shitless. I am horrified that these poor sensitive creatures are being exploited for entertainment.

No animals should ever be used as entertainment.

Disgraceful.

I'm involved in the Opening ceremony as a volunteer performer. I'm not just saying this, but it really is going to be fantastic, sheep and all. I'm not with the sheep, but there will have been research and risk assessments for using the animals. They will be fine, the creative team wouldn't have been allowed to do it if there was a risk of harm to the animals, or the people who are working with them.

Nothing wrong with caring about sheep. I care about sheep. But I know that these sheep will be treated.....well, I was going to say like royalty, but then I remembered what a crap weekend Liz and Phil have just had in the name of entertainment.

And I wanted to point out the inhent inconsistencies about caring about the sheep but not the show jumpers etc.

And also to chuck in my tuppence worth about Bhopal- I just don't understand why there hasn't been outrage about that.

I'm sorry. The Chinese opening ceremony involved thousands of magnificently choreographed dancers and fireworks.

And the British one uses - sheep?

I am so glad I don't have a tv right now.

And god yes, who the fuck mixes grazing animals and big bangy noises?

Persumably someone has looked into the animal welfare aspects? And some reputable organisation has had an input eg the RSPCA?

Why would it be any different from using animals in films, say?

Perhaps they are getting the sheep that star in Emmerdale - they'd be used to the attention...

I think there are cattle, horses, ducks and hens as well as a real 1950's stylee ploughman.
Talking from experience, potential chaos.

It is an ironic portrayal, surely, given that this type of farming is being killed off and replaced by massive intensive agrifarms which will change the face of the countryside forever.

LineRunner, I thought 'Breast News' was a dig at the TV tendency to insist on attractive female newsreaders.

They should race them.

Danny Boyle probably just got massively pissed, did some drawings and sent it all off saying to himself "let's see what they think of them apples". Then went "oh fuck" when he got the call. Did you see him on the news? He could barely contain his mirth.

They shouldn't use live animals. Let's all offer to make cotton wool sheep.

Danny Boyle made TRAINSPOTTING this could get interesting

Ohdoadmitmrsdevere - It's a way of saying "get a life". Poor sheep? For goodness sake they'll be wanting a wooly jumper for winter next... oh wait...........

A stage version of Trainspotting would be more entertaining.

No animals should ever be used as entertainment

Ridiculous!

What about Alexander and Sergei?

MrsD Lambeth County Show's always a winner. The flour tent's luvly

sheep?? did the ceremony really cost £27 million?? i'd dress up as a sheep for a slice of that

COTTON WOOL SHEEP?!?! I'd be proud of that.

I imagine the 'grass' being like the token strip of fake turf in his Frankenstein at the NT, and the 'rain' being like the wimpish trickle in the same play.

Worra they're not animals they're the devil incarnate

"I don't think there is a whole lot of difference tbh, a performing animal used solely as a performing animal is the same whether it's a sheep or a lion."

Are these performing sheep who are soley used as performing sheep or are they a free range herd brought in for the show and then sent to slaughter allowed to roam free again? Rather unlike a caged performing lion I think

Ok, here's the plan...
we kidnap the sheep. Replace them with some of us. No one will ever know. Sheep have a nice day in the country, we get to see some fireworks and piss on the grass. Win win.

Perhaps they'll use sheep that have done a lot of appearances on One Man and His Dog and are relatively used to public performance.

Anyway, most flocks are presumably quite used to being rounded up and driven; maybe the Olympic experience won't be that different?

I like that idea, I love fireworks - now where can you get a size 16 sheep suit, nursery's nativity ones a bit tight.

Not that the real sheep will care, they just need Welsh ones. They are so used to the RAF screaming over at 0 ft the red arrows won't worry them.

I'm in, Tufty.

Maybe the sheep are being trained on the artillary ranges on Salisbury Plain.

So that's 3 of us. Is that enough? I think we need a few more to make a convincing flock.
I'm sure we can find a size 17 sheep suit somewhere. Fetish shop?

YABU. If you've ever been to one of the many County Shows you'll find sheep happily standing about whilst all kinds of noisy stuff goes on around them... big crowds, tannoy announcements, motorcycle display teams, tractor demos etc